More on the Publisher Situation

While the Washington Post and Publishers Weekly have both reported this week on Harcourt Houghton Mifflin’s decision to freeze acquisitions, there seems to be news of a somewhat more optimistic kind unfolding in other sectors of the publishing market.  You can find the full story on it here. Hachette Group, which includes the Forever line (formerly Warner Forever), has announced that it is giving bonuses equivalent to one weeks’ salary to every employee of the company.  And these bonuses are being given in addition to any regular bonuses for which employees may be eligible!

Granted, Hatchette is the home of mega-bestsellers such as The Shack, David Baldacci, James Patterson, and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight empire, but this still seems like quite a change from the doom and gloom forecast we’ve been seeing lately.   From everything I’m reading, though, there seems to be quite an emphasis on “blockbuster” books, so I worry about authors just starting out in romance – or any other genre.  I’m heartened to see publishers such as Penguin indicating that they still want to acquire manuscripts, but I’m wondering how much they will be willing to put into cultivating new authors who don’t release bestsellers right out of the gate.

I’d be curious to see what authors and publishers think of the current situation, though.  Any thoughts?

-Lynn Spencer

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